Route optimization using network enforced, mobile implemented policy

ABSTRACT

A method for performing route optimization based on network enforced, and mobile implemented, policy. The method includes establishing, from a mobile device, a communication session with an access router; receiving, via the established communication session, a first IP address and a second IP address to be assigned to the mobile device; and receiving, at the mobile device, a set of rules. The method also includes evaluating, at the mobile device, at least one parameter of the communication session against the set of rules to determine to communicate with an external device using a selected one of the first IP address and the second IP address and communicating with the external device using the selected IP address as the address for the mobile device based upon a result of the evaluation.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to route optimization using network enforced,mobile implemented policy.

BACKGROUND

A modern wireless communication network combines a radio access network(“RAN”) with an Internet Protocol (“IP”) network. The RAN is configuredto provide a mobile device with a wireless connectivity over an air-linknetwork, and the IP network is configured to provide the mobile devicewith IP connectivity and services. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplarywireless communication network 100 used by a mobile device to access IPservices. The wireless communication network 100 may include a thirdgeneration or a fourth generation wireless network.

In either case, wireless communication network 100 includes a mobiledevice 110 configured to access IP services through a home network 120and an IP network 130. In one implementation, mobile device 110 includessoftware that enables mobile device 110 to act as a mobile phone. Tothis end, mobile device 110 is configured to receive as an input atelephone number associated with a call recipient and in response send,over home network 120 and IP network 130, a request to connect to amobile device associated with the entered telephone number.

The mobile device 110 may be, for example, a wireless telephone, apersonal digital assistant (“PDA”), a messaging device (e.g., a pager),a text messaging or a portable e-mail device (e.g., a Blackberry® or aSidekick®), a portable music player (e.g., an iPod®) or some otherelectronic portable messaging, entertainment, organization, or gamingdevice. Regardless of the particular type of mobile device 110, mobiledevice 110 includes an interface for receiving, from the user, an inputsuch as, for example, a number associated with another mobile device.

The home network 120 includes a radio access technology that enablesmobile device 110 to access IP network 130. In particular, home network120 includes base stations 122, a home access router (H-AR) 124, and ahome agent (HA) 126. The base stations 122 may serve as a hub for radiocommunications over home network 120 and may support sub-layers of anair-link protocol carried for transmitting and/or receiving data packetsto and/or from mobile device 110. The base stations 122 could be usingone of several mobile access technologies for allowing mobile device 110to connect to home access router 124. For example, base stations 122 maybe using access technologies such as global system for mobilecommunications (“GSM”), general packet radio service (“GPRS”), codedivision multiple access (“CDMA”), ultra mobile broadband (“UMB”), longterm evolution (“LTE”), and/or WiMax. The base stations 122, however,are not limited to these technologies.

Regardless of the type of technology used by base stations 122, basestations 122 are configured to allow mobile device 110 to connect tohome access router 124. The home access router 124 terminates aninterface of mobile device 110 toward home network 120. To this end,home access router 124 performs packet routing and forwarding, provideslawful interception of traffic, and relays traffic between base stations122 and home agent 126.

The home agent 126 is configured to support an interface to IP network130. In particular and in one implementation, home agent 126 isconfigured to allocate an IP address to mobile device 110, provide IPaccess policy enforcement, perform lawful interception of IP traffic,support billing and charging for IP services, and provide per-user basedpacket filtering.

The home network 120 also includes a home management entity 128. Thehome management entity 128 is configured to perform a managementfunction such as authentication, keeping track of a current location ofmobile device 110, paging and roaming. The home management entity 128 isalso configured to assign IP addresses and provide policy informationregarding network communication to mobile device 110.

The wireless communication network 100 supports mobile communications ina limited area based on the coverage area of home network 120. That is,depending on the location of mobile device 110, wireless communicationnetwork 100 may not be able to support all calls associated with mobiledevice 110. When mobile device 110 roams outside the coverage area ofhome network 120, its signals may be picked up by base stationsassociated with a visited network (e.g., a roaming network). Thisscenario is illustrated in more detail with respect to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network 200 inwhich a mobile device has roamed outside the coverage area its homenetwork and into a coverage area of a visited network. The wirelesscommunication network 200 includes mobile devices 210, 212, a homenetwork 220, an IP network 230, and a visited network 240. The mobiledevice 210, home network 220, and IP network 230 are generally similarto mobile device 110, home network 120, and IP network 130 and thereforeare not described in more detail.

The visited network 240 includes features similar to home network 220.In particular, visited network 240 includes base stations 242, a roamingaccess router (R-AR) 244, and a roaming home agent (R-HA) 246. The basestations 242, roaming access router 244, and roaming home agent 246 aregenerally similar to base stations 122, home access router 124, and homeagent 126. Accordingly, these items are not described in more detail.

The wireless communication network 200 illustrates a scenario in which auser of mobile device 210 roams outside its home network 220 (e.g., SanFrancisco, Calif.) into a visited network 240 (e.g., Washington D.C.),and the user of mobile device 210 makes a telephone call, for example,to another user operating mobile device 212 inside Washington D.C. Asshown, the traffic associated with the telephone call goes away fromWashington D.C. to San Francisco, Calif. via communication session 250and comes back to Washington D.C. via the same communication session.The policies hosted by the roaming access router dictates thedestination of the traffic. According to a standard policy, roamingaccess router 244 is configured to send traffic associated with mobiledevice 212 to San Francisco. To illustrate further, in one example, as apart of authenticating the mobile device 212 and the establishingcommunication session 250, roaming access router 244 receives a list ofsource addresses that should be routed to San Francisco. Among thesource addresses is the source address employed by mobile device 212.Therefore, when roaming access router 244 receives the traffic having asource address employed by mobile device 212, roaming access router 244forwards this traffic to San Francisco through communication session250. The traffic then comes back from San Francisco to Washington D.C.through the same communication session.

As one can imagine, in some implementations, sending the traffic fromWashington D.C. to San Francisco, Calif. and back to Washington D.C. maynot provide for a minimized latency and the best route optimization.Additionally, sending the traffic in this manner may not provide foroptimum traffic quality because the greater communication path resultsin a greater degradation of voice quality.

Accordingly, one of the features not defined in the prior art is how tooptimize traffic routing when a mobile device roams outside its homenetwork. Therefore, there is a need for a route optimization method thatenables a mobile device to selectively route traffic within a visitednetwork without having to send the traffic to the home network. This isneeded to insure a desired quality of service.

SUMMARY

A wireless communication network is disclosed herein, which incorporatesconcepts to address the above noted problems. In particular, a wirelesscommunication network is disclosed that provides for route optimizationin a mobile IP network by allowing a mobile device, such as, a mobilephone, to communicate with an external device using a home network or avisited network. The wireless communication network performs this taskby assigning two IP addresses to the mobile device, for use as its ownaddress(es).

The first IP address includes a home IP address that is configured to beused for traffic requiring services of the home network. The second IPaddress includes a roaming IP address that is configured to be used forroute optimization when the mobile device roams outside its homenetwork. The home network includes a network with which the mobiledevice is registered.

To illustrate and in keeping with the example described in thebackground section, assume that a mobile device moves outside its homenetwork (e.g., San Francisco, Calif.) into a visited network (e.g.,Washington D.C.) and the user makes a telephone call to anothersubscriber operating another mobile device inside Washington D.C. In thewireless communication network described herein, unlike the conventionalwireless communication networks, the traffic associated with thetelephone call may not go away from the visited network (e.g.,Washington D.C.) to the home network (e.g., San Francisco, Calif.) andinstead may be routed within the visited network (e.g., WashingtonD.C.). To accomplish this, in one implementation, the mobile deviceselects, from among the two IP addresses, the roaming IP address as asource IP address for the outgoing traffic. Thereafter, the mobiledevice sends the outgoing traffic to the roaming access router at thevisited network (e.g., Washington D.C.).

The roaming access router within the visited network (e.g., WashingtonD.C.) receives the traffic, determines the IP address associatedtherewith, and based on the determined IP address decides whether or notto forward the traffic to the home network (e.g., San Francisco,Calif.). To do so, in one implementation, the roaming access routerreferences a table having instructions for forwarding the traffic to anappropriate location. For example, the table includes an entry directingthe roaming access router to keep the traffic within the visited network(e.g., Washington D.C.) if the traffic includes the roaming IP address.Similarly, the table includes an entry directing the roaming accessrouter to send the traffic to the home network (e.g., San Francisco,Calif.) if the traffic includes the home IP address. The traffic mayinclude a video traffic or a voice traffic. Therefore, by using two IPaddresses (e.g., roaming IP address and home IP address), a desiredtraffic treatment is achieved in a mobile service provider network.

Specifically and according to one general aspect, this disclosureprovides a method for performing route optimization based on networkenforced, and mobile implemented, policy. The method includesestablishing, from a mobile device, a communication session with anaccess router; receiving, via the established communication session, afirst IP address and a second IP address to be assigned to the mobiledevice; and receiving, at the mobile device, a set of rules. The methodalso includes evaluating, at the mobile device, at least one parameterof the communication session against the set of rules to determine tocommunicate with an external device using a selected one of the first IPaddress and the second IP address and communicating with the externaldevice using the selected IP address as the address of the mobile devicebased upon a result of the evaluation.

Implementations of the above general aspect may include one or more ofthe following features. For example, receiving the first IP address mayinclude receiving a roaming IP address configured to be used for trafficrequiring services of a visited network and not a home network, the homenetwork being a network with which the mobile device is registered andthe visited network being a network within which the mobile deviceroams. Receiving the second IP address may include receiving a home IPaddress configured to be used for traffic requiring services of the homenetwork.

In one implementation, evaluating the at least one parameter of thecommunication session against the set of rules includes evaluating atleast one parameter of the communication session against the set ofrules to determine that the external device is in the visited network.In such a scenario, communicating with the external device may includecommunicating with the external device using the roaming IP address toavoid sending the traffic to the home network and thereby achieving adesired route optimization. Alternatively or additionally, evaluatingthe at least one parameter of the communication session against the setof rules includes evaluating at least one parameter of the communicationsession against the set of rules to determine that the external deviceis in the home network. In such a scenario communicating with theexternal device includes communicating with the external device usingthe home IP address. Alternatively or additionally, evaluating the atleast one parameter of the communication session against the set ofrules includes evaluating at least one parameter of the communicationsession against the set of rules to determine a location of the mobiledevice and determine that the mobile device is in the visited networkbased on the location of the mobile device. In such a scenario,communicating with the external device may communicating with theexternal device using the roaming IP address, thereby achieving theroute optimization.

The traffic may include video traffic or voice traffic. The method mayfurther include realizing, at the mobile device and by receiving thefirst and second IP addresses, that the mobile device is at least onehop away from its home access router. In another implementation,communicating with the external device is achieved through one of a homenetwork and a visited network depending upon usage of the selected IPaddress as a source IP address for outgoing traffic. The home networkmay be a network with which the mobile device is registered, and thevisited network may be a network at least one hop away from the homenetwork.

Establishing the communication session with the access router mayinclude establishing a communication session with a roaming accessrouter located outside a home network with which the mobile device isregistered and the roaming access router may be connected to a roaminghome agent and a home agent. The roaming home agent may belong to avisited network that is outside the home network and that is beingvisited by the mobile device and the home agent may belong to the homenetwork.

In another implementation, receiving the first IP address may includereceiving a roaming IP address configured to enable the mobile device tocommunicate with the external device through the visited network andreceiving the second IP address may include receiving a home IP addressconfigured to enable the mobile device to communicate with the externaldevice through the home network. Receiving the roaming IP address mayinclude receiving the roaming IP address from a visited network policyserver or a roaming home agent. Receiving the home IP address mayinclude receiving the home IP address from a home policy server and ahome agent.

In another implementation, receiving the set of rules may includereceiving the set of rules from a home policy network server thatbelongs to the home network. Receiving the set of rules may includereceiving a set of rules directing the mobile device to use the roamingIP address as a source IP address for outgoing traffic associated withapplications requiring high priority. Alternatively or additionally,receiving the set of rules may include receiving a set of rulesdirecting the mobile device to use the roaming IP address as a source IPaddress for outgoing traffic requiring a specific type of quality ofservice treatment.

Moving forward, evaluating the at least one parameter of thecommunication session against the set of rules may include evaluating atype of application associated with the communication session againstthe set of rules, and communicating with the external device may includecommunicating with the external device using either the roaming IPaddress or the home IP address based on the type of applicationassociated with the communication session. Alternatively oradditionally, evaluating the at least one parameter of the communicationsession against the set of rules may include evaluating a type ofquality of service associated with the communication session against theset of rules, and communicating with the external device may includecommunicating with the external device using either the roaming IPaddress or the home IP address based on the type of quality of serviceassociated with the communication session.

Along these lines, establishing the communication session with theaccess router may include establishing a communication session with ahome access router located inside a home network with which the mobiledevice is registered and the home access route being connected to aroaming home agent and a home agent. The roaming home agent and the homeagent may belong to the home network. In such a scenario, receiving thefirst IP address may include receiving a roaming IP address configuredto enable the mobile device to communicate with the external devicethrough the roaming home agent, and receiving the second IP address mayinclude receiving a home IP address configured to enable the mobiledevice to communicate with the external device through the home agent.

According to another general aspect, the method includes receiving, atan access router and from a mobile device, a request for an IP addressfor communication with an external device; communicating, in response tothe request, with an authentication server to authenticate the mobiledevice; receiving, at the access router, an indication ofauthentication, a first IP address and a second IP address to beassigned to the mobile device. The first IP address is configured toenable the mobile device to route traffic through one network and thesecond IP address is configured to enable the mobile device to route thetraffic through another network. The method also includes forwarding,from the access router and to the mobile device, the first IP addressand the second IP address; receiving, at the access router and from themobile device, traffic having one of the first IP address and the secondIP address as a source IP address; and selectively forwarding, from theaccess router, the traffic to one of a home agent and a roaming homeagent based upon the source IP address.

Implementations of the above general aspect may include one or more ofthe following features. For example, the first IP address may include aroaming IP address configured to route traffic through a visited networkand not a home network, the home network being a network with which themobile device is registered and the visited network being a networkwithin which the mobile device roams. The second IP address may includea home IP address configured to be used for traffic requiring servicesof the home network. The roaming home agent may belong to a visitednetwork that is outside the home network and that is being visited bythe mobile device, and the home agent may belong to the home network.

The method may further include determining, at the access router, thatthe mobile device is outside its home network. The access router mayinclude a roaming access router located outside a home network withwhich the mobile device is registered and the roaming access router maybe connected to the roaming home agent and the home agent.

In one implementation, receiving the traffic having either the first IPaddress or the second IP address may include receiving the traffic havethe roaming IP address as the source IP address, and determining whetherto forward the traffic to the home agent and the roaming home agent mayinclude determining to forward the traffic to the roaming home agentbased on the source IP address. The traffic may include video traffic orvoice traffic.

The method may further include storing, at the access router, a tableincluding information to forward the traffic to one of the home agentand the roaming home agent based on the source IP address. In oneimplementation, depending on the received source IP address, the trafficis forwarded through one of the visited network and the home network.

Implementations of the described techniques may include hardware, amethod or process, or computer software on a computer-accessible medium.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network used by amobile device to access IP services.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network in whicha mobile device has roamed outside the coverage area its home networkand into a coverage area of a visited network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary route optimization architecture within avisited network.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary route optimization traffic flow forvalidating a mobile device in a visited network and assigning to themobile device two IP addresses.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary media path for a visited network routeoptimization.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary route optimization within a homenetwork.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary route optimization traffic flow forvalidating a mobile device in a home network and assigning to the mobiledevice two IP addresses.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary route optimization media path betweentwo mobile devices served by two different home access routers withinthe same home network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant teachings. However, present teachings may be practicedwithout such details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures, components, and circuitry have been described at arelatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the present teachings.

In accordance with techniques described herein, a mobile device isenabled to optimize IP packet routing when the mobile device roamsoutside its home network. To achieve this, the mobile device receivestwo assigned IP addresses for its use in communications with externaldevices. The first IP address includes a home IP address configured tobe used for traffic requiring services of the home network. The secondIP address includes a roaming IP address configured to be used for routeoptimization when the mobile device roams outside its home network. Theroute optimization includes enabling the mobile device to communicatewith the external devices via the visited network and without the helpof the home network. This concept may also be called local trafficbreakout, where high priority traffic is treated differently by mobiledevice and network nodes.

To further illustrate, in one specific example when a mobile device islocated in a visited network (e.g., roaming network), the mobile deviceestablishes a communication session with a roaming access router andreceives through the roaming access router the first and second IPaddresses. The mobile device also receives a set of rules. The set ofrules may be associated with route optimization and may include, forexample, rules directing the mobile device to use the roaming IP addressfor outgoing traffic associated with applications having high priority.Alternatively or additionally, the set of rules may include rulesdirecting the mobile device to use the roaming IP address for outgoingtraffic requiring a specific type of quality of service treatment.

In either case, the mobile device evaluates at least one parameter ofthe established communication session against the set of rules todetermine whether to communicate with an external device using the firstIP address or the second IP address. And, based on the result of theevaluation, the mobile device communicates with the external deviceusing either the first IP address or the second IP address, as theaddress of the mobile device itself.

With that overview, it may be helpful to refer to an exemplary figurethat illustrates such route optimization architecture. FIG. 3illustrates an exemplary route optimization architecture 300. The routeoptimization architecture 300 includes components similar to thosedescribed with respect to FIG. 2. However, for the sake of completenessthese components are described below in more detail.

The route optimization architecture 300 includes mobile devices 310,312, 314, communicating with each other via a home network 320, an IPnetwork 330, and a visited network 340. The drawing shows networkelements in high-level functional block diagram form. Before describingeach element, it may be helpful to describe in high-level the routeoptimization architecture 300.

At high-level, mobile device 310 “homed” on home network 320 roamsoutside the support area of home network 320. Upon entering coveragearea of visited network 340, mobile device 310 registers as a visitorwith visited network 340. In response to the initial registrationrequest, visited network 340 communicates with home network 320 todetermine if mobile device 310 is a valid customer's mobile device ofhome network 320. Upon determining the same, visited network 340 allowsregistration which enables subsequent communication through visitednetwork 340.

For purposes of discussion, assume that mobile device 310 wishes tocommunicate with mobile device 312 “homed” on visited network 340. Thecommunication may include, for example, a Voice over IP (“VoIP”)communication. To achieve this, mobile device 310 interacts with visitednetwork 340 to establish a communication session. As noted in thebackground section, in the prior art, the outgoing traffic from mobiledevice 310 appears to originate on its home network 320. That is, theoutgoing traffic from mobile device 310 goes to home network 320 andfrom home network 320 goes to mobile device 312. Similarly, the incomingtraffic originated from mobile device 312 and directed to mobile device310 goes to home network 320 and from home network 320 goes to mobiledevice 312. This may result in an extra communication latency. Bycontrast, in route optimization architecture 300, mobile device 310 hasthe option of either routing the outgoing traffic to home network 320and from home network 320 to mobile device 312 or routing the outgoingtraffic directly to mobile device 312 via visited network 340 withoutsending the traffic back to home network 320 and thereby improvingcommunication latency. Similarly, the incoming traffic originated frommobile device 312 can either be routed to home network 320 and from homenetwork 320 to mobile device 310 or routed directly to mobile device 310via visited network 340 without sending the traffic back to home network320 and thereby improving communication latency.

To fully understand the technology, route optimization architecture 300will be described in more detail. The route optimization architecture300 may support a variety of multimedia voice and data services, usingdigital packet communications over the air link. It also may supportVoice over IP type telephone communications, as well as high-speed webbrowsing, just to name two exemplary services. In one implementation,the route optimization architecture 300 defines a fourth generationwireless network for enabling IP communication services for numerousmobile devices, although for discussion purposes, FIG. 3 shows threesuch devices.

The mobile devices 310, 312, and 314 sometimes referred to as mobilenodes, typically run one or more “client” programs for implementing theagent functionality with respect to one or more communication servicesthat the user obtains or subscribes to through the route optimizationarchitecture 300. The mobile devices 310, 312, and 314, for example, maytake the form of a mobile telephone station, with display and user inputcapabilities to support multimedia communications. Today, such mobiletelephones station take the form of portable handsets, although they maybe implemented in other forms.

For another example, mobile devices 310, 312, and 314 may take the formof a PDA or a portable personal computer (“PC”), incorporating awireless transceiver compatible with the particular type of wirelesspacket data service offered by the route optimization architecture 300.Of course, the mobile devices 310, 312, and 314 may take other forms orconnect to a variety of other data devices that may enable use of thenetwork communication services.

The route optimization architecture 300 may comprise access networksoperated by a large number of separate and independent service providersor “carriers.” For discussion purposes, FIG. 3 shows two such radioaccess networks, home network 320 and visited network 340, which areoperated by two different carriers. Through the carriers' accessnetworks 320 and 340, the overall route optimization architecture 300offers mobile communications to customers using mobile stationsthroughout a wide geographic area.

The home network 320 includes base stations 322, a home access router(H-AR) 324, a home agent (HA) 326, and a home policy server 328. Thebase stations 322 can communicate via an antennae system and an air-linkwith one or more of mobile devices 310, 312, and 314, when they arewithin range. In particular, base stations 322 are coupled to one ormore antennas (not shown) mounted on a radio tower within a coveragearea often referred to as a “cell” and form part of the radio networkfor sending and receiving radio frequency signals to/from the mobiledevices that the base stations 322 currently serve. The base stations322 are configured to assign and reassign channels to mobile devices310, 312, and 314 and are further configured to serve and monitor thesignal levels for recommending hand-offs to other base stations.

As shown, base station 322 connects mobile device 314 to home accessrouter 324. The home access router 324 may include a number of radioaccess network switches, which may be able to support both cellularvoice and packet data services. The home access router 324 typicallyincludes a base station controller functionality that controls thefunctions of a number of base stations 322 and helps to manage how callsmade by each mobile device are transferred (or “handed-off”) from oneserving base station to another. The wireless network equipment vendersmay implement this function differently. Some vendors have a physicalentity, which they call a base station controller, while other vendorsinclude this functionality as part of their switch (not shown).

The home access router 324 is coupled to home agent 326. The home agent326 may act as a packet data serving node. The home agent 326 may be afixed network element to support packet-switched data services. In oneimplementation, home agent 326 is configured to establish, maintain, andterminate logical links to the associated portion of home network 320.The home agent 326 may also be configured to support point-to-point(“PPP”) sessions with mobile devices 310, 312, and 314.

Additionally, home agent 326 may be configured to support an interfacefor the mobile devices 310, 312, and 314 to other packet switchednetworks, represented generally by IP network 330. In particular, homeagent 326 may be configured to allocate an IP address to mobile device314 within its range, provide IP access policy enforcement, performlawful interception of IP traffic, support billing and charging for IPservices, and provide per-user based packet filtering.

The home network 320 also includes home policy server 328. In oneimplementation, home policy server 328 is configured to perform amanagement function such as authentication, keeping track of a currentlocation of mobile devices, such as, for example, mobile device 314,paging and roaming. The home policy server 328 may also be configured toassign IP addresses and provide policy information regarding networkcommunication to mobile device 314.

Additionally, home policy server 328 may be configured to store dataregarding the valid station's identification, the assigned telephonenumber, subscription service options terminal capabilities, etc. To thisend, home network 320 may use the service information from home policyserver 328 to provide the subscribed services to user's mobile device,for example, while mobile device 314 is operating in the service area ofhome network 320. Although home policy server 328 may reside in a singleserver as shown, it may also run as an application/database on aseparate computer coupled for packet signaling communication via SS7network or other signaling network (not shown).

Although other networks may utilize different technologies orarchitectures, for discussion purposes it is assumed that visitednetwork 340 is generally similar to home network 320 but operated byanother carrier. The visited network 340 includes base stations 342,roaming access router (R-AR) 344, roaming home agent (R-HA) 346, and avisited network policy server 348, which are similar to base stations322, home access router 324, home agent 326, and home policy server 328,respectively. Therefore, the physical elements of visited network 340are not described in detail.

The base stations 342, similar to base stations 322, communicate via anantennae system and an air-link with mobile devices 310, 312, when themobile devices are within range, as shown. The roaming access router344, similar to home access router 324, carries the user communicationsfor the mobile devices 310, 312 and is coupled to roaming home agent346. The roaming home agent 346 performs functions similar to those ofhome agent 326 in home network 320, both to provide packet switchedrouting services and to perform the validation and billing relatedfunctions. For example, similar to home agent 326, roaming home agent346 may be configured to allocate an IP address to mobile devices 310,312 within its range, provide IP access policy enforcement, performlawful interception of IP traffic, support billing and charging for IPservices, and provide per-user based packet filtering.

As shown, roaming home agent 346 provides two communication sessions tomobile devices 310, 312, one to home network 320 ending at home agent326 and another to visited network ending at roaming home agent 346. Thecommunication session between roaming access router 344 and home agent326 is shown as a communication session 370, and the communicationsession between the roaming access router 344 and roaming home agent 346is shown as a communication session 380, each of which are describedwith respect to FIG. 4 in more detail.

The visited network policy server 348, similar to home policy server328, is configured to perform a management function such asauthentication, keeping track of a current location of mobile devices310, 314, paging and roaming. The visited network policy server 348 isalso configured to assign IP addresses and provide policy informationregarding network communication to mobile device.

As noted above, the route optimization architecture 300 supports a rangeof packet data services. The packet data communications can supporttraditional data applications, such as browsing the Internet and emailcommunications to/from remote computers such as personal computer 350 orserver 360. The packet data communications through the routeoptimization architecture 300 also can support VoIP type packetapplications. The personal computer 350 and server 360 are intended asgeneral examples of classes of devices that may participate in datacommunications to/from the users' mobile devices 310, 312, and 314.

Different customers subscribe to service through different providers andare assigned to specific radio access networks (e.g., home network 320or visited network 340) as their home networks; and the mobile devicesand network elements are provisioned accordingly. In keeping with theprevious example, assume that mobile devices 310 and 314 belong tocustomers of home network 320 and mobile device 312 belongs to customersof visited network 340. Therefore, mobile devices 310, 314 are “homed”on home network 320 and mobile device 312 is “homed” on visited network340.

As shown, mobile devices 312, 314 are operating within the service areaof their home access provider networks, visited network 340 and homenetwork 320, respectively. By contrast, mobile device 310 has roamed outof the service area of its home network 320 and into a differentgeographic area, where the mobile device 310 is receiving wirelessservices from a different access provider (e.g., visited network 340).

Upon entering visited network 340, mobile device 310 should be validatedbefore being able to communicate with other mobile devices, such as, forexample, mobile devices 312 and 314. As a part of validation, mobiledevice 310 receives a first IP address and a second IP address. Theprocess of validation and obtaining the first and second IP address arefurther described below with reference to FIG. 4. After obtaining thefirst and second IP addresses, mobile device 310 may communicate withexternal devices, such as, for example, mobile devices 312, 314.

The communication with the external devices is either routed throughhome network 320 or routed directly through visited network 340depending upon usage of the first or the second IP address as a sourceIP address for the outgoing traffic. The communication with the externaldevices is further described below with reference to FIG. 5. Below,first, the process of the process of validation and obtaining the firstand second IP addresses is discussed with respect to FIG. 4, and thenthe process of communication of mobile device 310 with external devicesusing either the first IP address or the second IP address is discussedwith respect to FIG. 5.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary route optimization traffic flow 400 forvalidating a mobile device in a visited network and assigning to themobile device two IP addresses. In keeping with the previous examplesand for convenience, particular components described with respect toFIG. 3 are referenced as performing the route optimization traffic flow400. More particularly, route optimization traffic flow 400 involves amobile device 310, which has roamed outside its home network 320 andinto, a visited network 340. The visited network 340 includes a roamingaccess router (R-AR) 344, a roaming home agent (R-HA) 346, and a visitednetwork policy server 348. The home network 320 includes a home agent(HA) 326 and a home policy server 328.

As a customer roams, mobile device 310 registers in service areas otherthan the home area. To do so, mobile device 310 establishes acommunication session with a roaming access router 344 (step 410). Thecommunication session may include a layer 2 tunnel, which may be used tocarry transit traffic between mobile device 310 and roaming accessrouter 344. For example, layer 2 tunnel may utilize Generic RoutingEncapsulation (“GRE”), which is a tunneling protocol developed by CiscoSystems to encapsulate network layer packets inside IP tunnelingpackets. The original packet is the payload for the final packet.Alternatively, the layer 2 tunnel may use IP tunneling, which is a knownprocess of embedding one IP packet inside of another, for the purpose ofsimulating a physical connection between two remote networks across anintermediate network.

Regardless, as a part of the layer 2 connection setup, mobile device 310may make a request for an IP address. Alternatively, mobile device 310may request such IP address using a well-known Dynamic HostConfiguration Protocol (“DHCP”). In either case, roaming access router344 detects that mobile device 310 is roaming and attempts to obtain twoIP addresses for mobile device 310. To this end, roaming access router344 attempts to establish a communication session with a roaming homeagent 346 by sending a session binding request message (step 420).

The session may include a network based mobility protocol called ProxyMobile IP (“PMIP”) session. The PMIP is a protocol defined in InternetDraft “Proxy Mobile IPv6 draft-ietf-netlmm-proxymip6-06.txt” submittedon Sep. 23, 2007. The PMIP is based on an external node acting as aProxy Mobile Node that registers the location of an IP-basedcommunication device and is accessible while the device in on thenetwork.

The roaming home agent 346 receives the request and in response attemptsto authorize mobile device 310 to visited network policy server 348(step 430). The visited network policy server 348 typically resides inMSCs although it may reside in other network nodes. The visited networkpolicy server 348 interacts with home policy server 328 to validate theroaming mobile device 310 (step 440). The home policy server 328 isaware of capabilities and subscribed services of mobile device 310. Ifhome policy server 328 does not allow this communication session, homepolicy server 328 communicates the same to roaming home agent 346 which,in response, issues a binding reject to roaming access router 344 (step450).

By contrast, if home policy server 328 validates mobile device 310,roaming home agent 346 sends PMIP binding accept to roaming accessrouter 344 (step 450). As a part of this procedure of binding requestand binding accept (steps 420, 450), roaming access router 344 receives,from visited network policy server 348 or roaming home agent 346, an IPaddress to be assigned to mobile device 310. In turn, roaming accessrouter 344 forwards the IP address to mobile device 310 (step 460).

During successful registration process, IP address service informationfor mobile device 310 is downloaded from home policy server 328 tovisited network policy server 348. The validation process also providesinformation to home policy server 328 indicating the current location ofmobile device 310, in this case, within visited network 340, to allowhome network 320 to route incoming voice calls or other traffic tomobile device 310 at its current location.

In one implementation, the IP address is called a roaming IP address andis used for routing high priority traffic from visited network 340. Inparticular, the roaming IP address is configured to enable mobile device310 to communicate with the external device through visited network 340.This concept is called local traffic breakout or route optimization,where high priority traffic is treated differently by mobile device 310and network nodes. To further illustrate and in keeping with theabove-described examples, assume that mobile device 310 wishes tocommunicate with mobile device 312 “homed” at visited network 340. Insuch a scenario, mobile device 310 may use the roaming IP address as asource IP address and as a result outgoing traffic from mobile device310 is routed directly by roaming access router 344 to mobile device312. Subsequently, packets from mobile device 312 use the roaming IPaddress as the destination address. The roaming IP address points toroaming access router 344, so that the packets reach that router fordelivery to mobile device 310, without first going to home network 320.As such, unlike in the prior art, the traffic does not have to go backto home network 320 before being routed to/or from mobile device 312.

Returning back to the visited network route optimization traffic flow400, in one implementation, after mobile device 310 is provided withroaming IP address, roaming access router 344 triggers a communicationsession with home agent 326 by sending binding update/registrationrequest message to home agent 326 (step 470). The communication session,in one implementation, is a PMIP session. For an effective PMIPcommunication between roaming access router 344 and home agent 326 atunnel may be required. Therefore, if a tunnel has not already beenestablished between roaming access router 344 and home agent 326, atunnel will be established. To establish a tunnel, roaming access router344 and home agent 326 may use GRE, IP-in-IP, or GTP based tunneling orequivalent tunneling protocol.

The request may include the credentials of mobile device 310. Thecredentials may include a subscriber ID and an authentication key. Uponreceiving the request, home agent 326 communicates with home policyserver 328 to verify the credentials of mobile device 310 (step 480). Ifthe credentials cannot be verified, home agent 326 sends a bindingreject with a reject code value to roaming access router 344 (step 490).By contrast, if the credentials are verified, home agent 326 sendsbinding accept/registration response message to roaming access router344 (step 490). In one implementation, as a part of binding acceptmessage, home agent 326 or home policy server 328 provides roamingaccess router 344 with a second IP address to be used by mobile device310. The roaming access router 344 forwards the second IP address tomobile device 310 for its usage (step 492). In one implementation, thesecond IP address is called a home IP address and is configured toenable mobile device 310 to communicate with external devices throughhome network 320.

Moving forward, mobile device 310 communicates with home policy server328 to receive a policy that specifies how mobile device 310 should usethe two IP addresses (step 494). In one implementation, the policydirects mobile device 310 to use a specific IP address for a specificapplication. This may allow an application residing at mobile device 310to send traffic to home network 320 or visited network 340 for routeoptimization. In another implementation, the policy directs mobiledevice 310 to use a specific IP address for specific type of quality ofservice treatment associated with the traffic, independent of anapplication type. For example, the policy may direct mobile device 310to use the roaming IP address for outgoing traffic requiring specifictype of quality of service treatment.

In yet another implementation, the policy directs mobile device 310 tooptimize routing for mobile peer-to-peer applications. In anotherimplementation, the policy directs use of a specific IP address based onthe destination of the traffic. For example, if the traffic is destinedfor an external device (e.g., mobile device 312) also in visited network340, the policy directs mobile device 310 to use the roaming IP addressto avoid sending the traffic to home network 320 and thereby achieving adesired route optimization. Similarly, if the traffic is destined for anexternal device (e.g., mobile device 314) within a home network 320, thepolicy directs mobile device 320 to use the home IP address whencommunicating with the external device. The traffic may include a videotraffic or voice traffic.

Regardless of the type of policy implemented by home policy server 328,mobile device 310 is configured to receive the set of rules and evaluateat least one parameter of the communication session against the set ofrules for determining whether to communicate with an external deviceusing the roaming IP address or the home IP address. Based on the resultof this evaluation, mobile device 310 communicates with the externaldevice using either the roaming IP address or the home IP address. Thisprocess is described below in more detail with respect to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary media path 500 for a visited networkroute optimization. In keeping with the previous examples and forconvenience, particular components described with respect to FIG. 3 arereferenced as performing visited network route optimization media path500. More particularly, media path 500 involves a mobile device 310,which has roamed outside its home network 320 into a visited network340. The visited network 340 includes a roaming access router 344 and aroaming home agent 346. The home network 320 includes a home agent 326.

For the purposes of discussion, it is assumed that the policy includesuse of a specific IP address based on a type of application associatedwith the communication session. In such a scenario, mobile device 310determines the type of application associated with the communicationsession and evaluates the type of application against the set of rules.If the application requires high priority treatment, for example, mobiledevice 310 uses roaming IP address as a source IP address and forwardsthe traffic to roaming access router 344. Alternatively, if theapplication requires home network services or home network control,mobile device 310 uses a home IP address as a source IP address andforwards the traffic to roaming access router 344.

The roaming access router 344 receives the traffic, determines the IPaddress associated therewith, and based on the IP address eitherdirectly routes the traffic or forwards the traffic to home agent 326.To do so, in one implementation, roaming access router 344 references atable having instructions for forwarding the traffic to an appropriatelocation. For example, the table includes an entry directing roamingaccess router 344 to directly route the traffic if the traffic includesthe roaming IP address (e.g., media path 1). For example, an IP packetoriginating from mobile device 310 with a roaming IP address as a sourceIP address will be directly routed by roaming access router 344.Similarly, traffic coming within visited network 340 with the roaming IPaddress as the destination IP address will be routed to mobile device310 through roaming access router 344 without going through home agent326.

The table may also include an entry directing roaming access router 344to send the traffic to home agent 326 if the traffic includes the homeIP address (e.g., media path 2). For example, a mobile deviceapplication requiring services of home network 320 will send an IPpacket with a home IP address as a source IP address. Such a packet willbe sent through PMIP tunnel 370 from roaming access router 344 to homeagent 326. The home agent 326 will route the packet to the rightdestination address. Similar flow applies for traffic in reversedirection. That is, traffic coming within visited network 340 withdestination IP address as a home IP address will be routed to home agent326 and the home agent 326 routes the traffic to mobile device 310.

The traffic may include a video traffic or a voice traffic. Therefore,by using two IP addresses (e.g., roaming IP address and home IPaddress), a desired traffic treatment is achieved in a mobile serviceprovider network using PMIP.

Other implementations are contemplated. For example, although the routeoptimization is described within a visited network in the foregoingimplementations, it should be noted that the route optimization may beperformed within a home network itself. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplaryroute optimization architecture 600 within a home network. The routeoptimization architecture 600 includes a mobile device 610, a homenetwork 620, and an IP network 630. The mobile device 610 and IP network630 are generally similar to mobile device 310 and IP network 330described with respect to FIG. 3 and therefore they are not described inmore detail.

The home network 620 includes base stations 622, a home access router624, home agent 626 a, a roaming home agent 626 b, a home policy server628 a, and a roaming policy server 628 b. To some extend, physicalelements of home network 620 is similar to the physical elements of homenetwork 320. In particular, base stations 622, home access router 624,home agent 626 a, and home policy server 628 a are similar to basestations 322, home access router 324, home agent 326, and home policyserver 328, respectively. Therefore, these physical elements are notdescribed in more detail.

The difference is in that home network 620 also includes roaming homeagent 626 b, and roaming policy server 628 b, each of which werepreviously inside a visited network. That is it is possible for a homenetwork to include both the home agent and the roaming agent, andsimilarly include both the home policy server and the roaming policyserver.

In such an implementation, therefore, home access router 624 determineshow to route the traffic based on the IP address associated with thetraffic. To do so, in one implementation, home access router 624references a table having instructions for forwarding the traffic to anappropriate location. For example, the table includes an entry directinghome access router 624 to directly route the traffic if the trafficincludes the roaming IP address. For example, an IP packet originatingfrom mobile device 610 with a roaming IP address as a source IP addresswill be directly routed by home access router 624. Similarly, trafficcoming within home network 620 with a roaming IP address as thedestination IP address will be routed to mobile device 610 through homeaccess router 624 without going through home agent 626 a.

The table may also include an entry directing home access router 624 tosend the traffic to home agent 626 a if the traffic includes the home IPaddress. For example, a mobile device application requiring services ofhome network 620 will send an IP packet with a home IP address as asource IP address. Such a packet will be sent through PMIP tunnel fromhome access router 624 to home agent 626 a. The home agent 626 a willroute the pack to the right destination address. Similar flow appliesfor traffic in the reverse direction. That is, packets coming withinhome network 620 with the home IP address as the destination IP addresswill be routed to home agent 626 a and the home agent 626 a routes thetraffic to mobile device 610.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary route optimization traffic flow 700 forvalidating a mobile device in a home network and assigning to the mobiledevice two IP addresses. In keeping with the previous examples and forconvenience, particular components described with respect to FIG. 6 arereferenced as performing the route optimization traffic flow 700. Moreparticularly, route optimization traffic flow 700 involves a mobiledevice 610 within its home network 620. The home network 620 includes ahome access router 624, a home agent 626 a, a roaming home agent 626 b,a home policy server 628 a, and a roaming home policy server 628 b.Other than the fact the roaming home agent 344 is replaced with homeagent 624 and the process is carried out within home network 620 insteadof within home network 320 and visited network 340, the routeoptimization traffic flow 700 is similar to the route optimizationtraffic flow 400. In particular, steps 710-790, 792, and 794 are similarto steps 410-490, 492, and 494. Therefore, the route optimizationtraffic flow 700 is not described in more detail.

In another implementation, route optimization may be achieved betweentwo mobile devices served by two different home access routers withinthe same home network. FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary routeoptimization media path 800 for such a scenario. The media path includesmobile devices 810, 812, home access routers 820, 822, roaming homeagents 830, 832, and a home agent 840. Through the procedures describedearlier with respect to FIG. 7, mobile device 810 receives a firstroaming IP address (“R-IP1”) and a first home IP address (“H-IP1”) andis connected to home access router 820, roaming home agent 830, and homeagent 840. Similarly, mobile device 812 receives a second roaming IPaddress (“R-IP2”) and a second home IP address (“H-IP2”) and isconnected to home access router 822, roaming home agent 832, and homeagent 840.

When mobile device 810 wishes to communicate with mobile device 812 foroptimized routing (e.g., higher quality of service and low latency),mobile device 810 will create a packet with R-IP1 as a source IP addressand R-IP2 as a destination IP address and sends this packet to homeaccess router 820. The home access router 820 router receives the packetand route the packet directly to home access router 822 without sendingthe packet to home agent 840. The home access router 820 may send thepacket through operator's IP network or a dedicated IP tunnel, dependingon network design and configurations.

Alternatively or additionally, when mobile device 810 wishes tocommunicate with mobile device 812 through home network control (e.g.,SIP signaling, Instant Messaging, etc.), mobile device 810 creates an IPpacket with H-IP1 as a source IP address and H-IP2 as a destination IPaddress and forwards this to home access router 820. The home accessrouter 820 receives the packet and forwards it to home agent 840, whichin turn forwards the packet to mobile device 812 through home accessrouter 822.

Other implementations are also contemplated.

1. A method for performing route optimization based on network enforced,and mobile implemented, policy, the method comprising: establishing,from a mobile device, a communication session with an access router;receiving, via the established communication session, a first IP addressand a second IP address to be assigned to the mobile device; receiving,at the mobile device, a set of rules; evaluating, at the mobile device,at least one parameter of the communication session against the set ofrules to determine to communicate with an external device using aselected one of the first IP address and the second IP address; andcommunicating with the external device using the selected IP address asthe address of the mobile device based upon a result of the evaluation.2. The method of claim 1, wherein: receiving the first IP addressincludes receiving a roaming IP address configured to be used fortraffic requiring services of a visited network and not a home network,the home network being a network with which the mobile device isregistered and the visited network being a network within which themobile device roams; and receiving the second IP address includesreceiving a home IP address configured to be used for traffic requiringservices of the home network.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein:evaluating the at least one parameter of the communication sessionagainst the set of routes includes evaluating at least one parameter ofthe communication session against the set of rules to determine that theexternal device is in the visited network, and communicating with theexternal device includes communicating with the external device usingthe roaming IP address to avoid sending the traffic to the home networkand thereby achieving a desired route optimization.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein: evaluating the at least one parameter of thecommunication session against the set of rules includes evaluating atleast one parameter of the communication session against the set ofrules to determine that the external device is in the home network, andcommunicating with the external device includes communicating with theexternal device using the home IP address.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein: evaluating the at least one parameter of the communicationsession against the set of rules includes evaluating at least oneparameter of the communication session against the set of rules todetermine a location of the mobile device and determine that the mobiledevice is in the visited network based on the location of the mobiledevice, and communicating with the external device includescommunicating with the external device using the roaming IP address,thereby achieving the route optimization.
 6. The method of claim 2,wherein the traffic includes video traffic or voice traffic.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: communicating with the external device isachieved through one of a home network and a visited network dependingupon usage of the selected IP address as a source IP address foroutgoing traffic, the home network is a network with which the mobiledevice is registered, and the visited network is a network at least onehop away from the home network.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinestablishing the communication session with the access router includesestablishing a communication session with a roaming access routerlocated outside a home network with which the mobile device isregistered and the roaming access router is connected to a roaming homeagent and a home agent.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the roaminghome agent belongs to a visited network that is outside the home networkand that is being visited by the mobile device and the home agentbelongs to the home network.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein:receiving the first IP address includes receiving a roaming IP addressconfigured to enable the mobile device to communicate with the externaldevice through the visited network; and receiving the second IP addressincludes receiving a home IP address configured to enable the mobiledevice to communicate with the external device through the home network.11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the roaming IP addressincludes receiving the roaming IP address from a visited network policyserver or a roaming home agent.
 12. The method of claim 10, whereinreceiving the home IP address includes receiving the home IP addressfrom a home policy server or a home agent.
 13. The method of claim 10,wherein receiving the set of rules includes receiving the set of rulesfrom a home policy network server that belongs to the home network. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the set of rules includesreceiving a set of rules directing the mobile device to use the roamingIP address as a source IP address for outgoing traffic associated withapplications requiring high priority.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein receiving the set of rules includes receiving a set of rulesdirecting the mobile device to use the roaming IP address as a source IPaddress for outgoing traffic requiring a specific type of quality ofservice treatment.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein: evaluating theat least one parameter of the communication session against the set ofrules includes evaluating a type of application associated with thecommunication session against the set of rules, and communicating withthe external device includes communicating with the external deviceusing either the roaming IP address or the home IP address based on thetype of application associated with the communication session.
 17. Themethod of claim 10, wherein: evaluating the at least one parameter ofthe communication session against the set of rules includes evaluating atype of quality of service associated with the communication sessionagainst the set of rules, and communicating with the external deviceincludes communicating with the external device using either the roamingIP address or the home IP address based on the type of quality ofservice associated with the communication session.
 18. The method ofclaim 1, wherein establishing the communication session with the accessrouter includes establishing a communication session with a home accessrouter located inside a home network with which the mobile device isregistered and the home access route being connected to a roaming homeagent and a home agent.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the roaminghome agent and the home agent belong to the home network.
 20. The methodof claim 19, wherein: receiving the first IP address includes receivinga roaming IP address configured to enable the mobile device tocommunicate with the external device through the roaming home agent; andreceiving the second IP address includes receiving a home IP addressconfigured to enable the mobile device to communicate with the externaldevice through the home agent.
 21. A method for optimizing acommunication route in a mobile IP network, the method comprising:receiving, at an access router and from a mobile device, a request foran IP address for communication with an external device; communicating,in response to the request, with an authentication server toauthenticate the mobile device; receiving, at the access router and fromthe authentication server, an indication of authentication; receiving,at the access router, a first IP address and a second IP address to beassigned to the mobile device, the first IP address configured to enablethe mobile device to route traffic through one network and the second IPaddress configured to enable the mobile device to route the trafficthrough another network; forwarding, from the access router and to themobile device, the first IP address and the second IP address;receiving, at the access router and from the mobile device, traffichaving one of the first IP address and the second IP address as a sourceIP address; and selectively forwarding, from the access router, thetraffic to one of a home agent and a roaming home agent based upon thesource IP address.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein: the first IPaddress includes a roaming IP address configured to route trafficthrough a visited network and not a home network, the home network beinga network with which the mobile device is registered and the visitednetwork being a network within which the mobile device roams; the secondIP address includes a home IP address configured to be used for trafficrequiring services of the home network, the roaming home agent belongsto a visited network that is outside the home network and that is beingvisited by the mobile device, and the home agent belong to the homenetwork.
 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising determining, atthe access router, that the mobile device is outside its home network.24. The method of claim 23, wherein the access router includes a roamingaccess router located outside a home network with which the mobiledevice is registered and the roaming access router is connected to theroaming home agent and the home agent.
 25. The method of claim 22,wherein: receiving the traffic having either the first IP address or thesecond IP address includes receiving the traffic have the roaming IPaddress as the source IP address, and determining whether to forward thetraffic to the home agent or the roaming home agent includes determiningto forward the traffic to the roaming home agent based on the source IPaddress.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein the traffic includes videotraffic or voice traffic.
 27. The method of claim 21, further comprisingstoring, at the access router, a table including information to forwardthe traffic to one of the home agent and the roaming home agent based onthe source IP address.
 28. The method of claim 21, wherein: depending onthe received source IP address, the traffic is forwarded through one ofthe visited network and the home network, the home network is a networkwith which the mobile device is registered, and the visited network is anetwork at least one hop away from the home network.